Under the Hood of the Modern Icehouse Set

Looney Labs Design Memo, 7/29/99

Our plans for the overall design of the Icehouse product have
evolved quite a bit in the scant week since I posted the first
details of those plans. I've updated this design document
accordingly. Again, remember that the future is always in question
and everything here is subject to change.

The modern icehouse set will include 3 books and 3 informational
cards, plus of course, 60 beautiful plastic pyramids.

The
Pieces

The pieces themselves will be very much like what we speced
out in the quote request we
posted here last winter: hollow, with thick walls; designed to
fully nest without sticking together; and molded in translucent
crystal polystyrene, in red, blue, yellow, and green. The pieces
will conform to the established traditional sizes. Each will have
our URL etched in tiny letters on the base.

The Packaging

The packaging for the modern icehouse set will be as unusual
as the game itself. Instead of hiding the pieces inside a cardboard
box, we're going to use a crystal-clear plastic box, with 4 sides
exposed, so that you can see the pieces rattling around inside.
The box we've chosen is nearly cube shaped, being 4.5" tall,
with a square base measuring 3.5" x 3.5". We will pack
the books and cards in on either side of the box, so that you'll
be able to see and read the fronts of the 2 cards even when the
box is sealed and shrink-wrapped. The 2 cards then will fulfill
the functions of the top and bottom panels of a traditional board
game box, with one card sporting full-color splash art, and the
other providing as much info about the product as we can cram
onto a slightly narrow index card. Lastly, the lid will bear a
new round black Icehouse sticker.

The Name of the Product

An issue we've been struggling with for quite some time has
been the name of the product. Years of test marketing and focus
group feedback have convinced us that Icehouse itself is too complex
and inaccessible a game for most players. Although the rules will
still be made available on the website, they will not be included
with the game set.

Nevertheless,
the product will still be called Icehouse, because even though
we don't include a game called Icehouse in the product, we do
still call them Icehouse pieces. We're moving away from thinking
of Icehouse as a specific game, and instead focusing on the image
of Icehouse pyramids as general use game pieces from another planet,
used to play a bunch of different games, in much the way we use
a deck of playing cards. The full name of the product, therefore,
will be Icehouse: The Martian Chess Set.

To suggest that Icehouse is an alien word meaning "chess
set", Alison
created a really cool logo for us that looks like the word Icehouse
written in Martian text.

The Books

Book 1 - IceTowers/IceTraders:
The first of the three books will focus on games that can be played
without any additional equipment: IceTowers and IceTraders.

Book 2 - Zarcana:
The second book will feature the complete rules for Zarcana, designed
by John Cooper.

Book 3 - Martian Chess: The
third book will feature the rules for Martian Chess, accompanied
by a previously unreleased work of Icehouse related fiction by
Andrew Looney, entitled "The
Martian Archeological Society." This newer piece of fiction
will help put Icehouse into perspective, promote the original
fiction that started it all, and explain why the cover art features
an alien cityscape composed of pyramid-shaped buildings.

The Informational Cards

The Mars Card: Facing out on one side of the box will be a
color glossy card, a little smaller than a postcard, with a new
Martian cityscape, painted by Dawn
Petrlik, and the words "Icehouse: The Martian Chess Set."
Seen through the crystal clear plastic and shrink-wrap, this will
serve as the top of the box. The back of the Mars card will feature
some background information on Icehouse and its glorious 100,000
year history.

The Box Bottom: Facing out on the opposing side of the box
will be another card, with a description of the games within,
plus the UPC, contact info, etc. Here's what the current draft
looks like:

The Zarcana Reference Card: Because of the frequent need to
consult the major arcana translation key, we'll be including that
key on a handy reference card.

Release Schedule

We've scrapped our plans for a 2 version release schedule,
and plan to have everything ready to begin assembling and shipping
product as soon as the factory delivers the pieces.

We plan to make a special pre-order offer available soon. Tune
in next week.

At some point we will also make available a spiral bound volume
containing a complete printout of the Icehouse website, as well
as the rules for the other icehouse games (Focus, Igloo, DNA,
Trice, Ice Chess, etc) that aren't included in the actual game
set, for the benefit of those without web access.

Lastly, we will also stock and sell the Londa Tarot, the deck
we prefer/recommend for use when playing Zarcana. These will go
on sale at the same time we release Icehouse: The Martian Chess
Set.